


Childhood Fun

by literati42



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Malcolm Bright and JT Tarmel, Malcolm is adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literati42/pseuds/literati42
Summary: Malcolm is bad at making friends, JT was a nerdier kid than people expect, and Gil just wants his kids to focus.By request for "What is Malcolm's favorite Pokemon"
Comments: 21
Kudos: 152





	Childhood Fun

**Author's Note:**

> Filling a request from @WhovianaWholock on twitter who asked for just a paragraph about Malcolm's favorite Pokemon and instead I wrote an entire oneshot. It happens!
> 
> As always, chat with me on @themythofpsyche on twitter!
> 
> ****I am still taking requests*****

The beat cop, Officer Ramirez, was reaching the end of her story when JT clocked Bright and Gil entering the precinct. He noticed the profiler see them before he looked back at the cop. “So, I go to see about this burglar the woman is convinced is casing her house, and you know what I find?”

“What?” JT asked.

“A kid playing Pokemon Go. He wandered into the yard searching for a Scyther.”

JT gave a snort of laughter at the story, catching Gil’s eye. He nodded to Officer Ramirez and headed into the conference room, nearly colliding with the profiler. “You lurking in doorways now, Bright?”

“Oh no, I was just curious how the story ended,” Malcolm said. He headed into the room, but JT did not miss the way he was looking like he was mulling over clues.

“The way the story ended?” JT asked, taking his seat across from Dani.

“About the young man searching a yard for a cipher, what type of code was he breaking?” Malcolm asked.

“Not a cipher. A Scyther. A Pokemon,” JT said. “You know, video games. Tiny creatures. Things normal people like.”

“I know what Pokemon is,” Malcolm replied.

“Oh yeah?” JT asked. “What’s your favorite?”

The profiler frowned, “I never played it. I didn’t really do video games or cards.”

“Or friends?” JT said. “They didn’t have serial killer trading cards?”

“Hey,” Gil said as he entered the room. “Enough.”  
“They do actually,” Malcolm said at the same time. All three eyes looked at him. “Have serial killer trading cards, but that’s a relatively new invention with the current rise of true crime.”

Dani shook her head, then looked at JT. “Why do you know so much about Pokemon anyway?”

“Because I was a child who had friends.”

“A nerd child, you mean,” Dani replied.

“Was I talking to myself when I said enough earlier?” Gil said, “We have a murder to solve.”

_-_-_

The case was over, and JT noticed that Malcolm was lingering around the precinct, like usual. He generally talked to Gil and stared broodily into shadows, but this time, JT saw he was on typing on his phone with a very serious expression. The detective watched as Malcolm held up his phone and walked around in a circle, nearly running over a desk in the process.

“Is this some kind of profiler dance?”

Malcolm jumped in surprise. “Oh…no.” He held up his phone awkwardly and JT caught sight of the screen. Never in a million years would he have expected to see the Pokemon Go map. Malcolm lowered it, awkwardly, and started his nervous rambling. “You said this is what you did as a kid. I was curious…”

It figured. Only Malcolm Bright would download Pokemon to get a more complete profile of someone. JT rolled his eyes and turned to head out the door. Something made him come up short. “You have to do it outside. You won’t catch anything walking around in here,” he said over his shoulder.

“Oh,” Malcolm said. “Right.” And then he headed for the door. JT stepped in front of him.

“You’re not really going outside to go…Pokemon hunting.”

“You just said that’s the only way to catch anything.”

“Yes, but you can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you can’t even walk down the damn sidewalk without someone shooting at you. You are not going to walk around staring at your phone playing a video game.” JT scuffed, “You’ll walk into traffic. Or probably be kidnapped by a serial killer.”

Malcolm stared at him, and that shit-eating grin spread across his face. “Detective JT Tarmel…you are worried about me.”

JT sighed, “Nevermind, here, take the phone. I saw a Charazard in the middle of the intersection.”

“Which one is your favorite?”

“What?” JT said, the jump in topic throwing him off.

Malcolm held up the phone, “Which one?”

“I said I liked this as a kid, Bright. Not now.”

“Yes but, you know which one your favorite was.”

JT shook his head. “Go home, Bright.” He turned and headed toward the exit.

“I like Torchic.”

JT, once more, stopped and turned around. “How did you come up with that?”

“I have access to google,” Malcolm replied, “Anyway, it’s a bird. I like birds.”

“I thought you like snakes?”

“I used to like snakes like you used to like Pokemon. We’re learning so much about each other, Detective Tarmel.”

JT huffed, and this time he actually did walked out. Going down to the street he thought about the weird, annoying profiler. It struck him as he walked that his teasing earlier in the day may have been more accurate than he intended. Malcolm did not have friends, not as a child. As far as JT could tell, he did not have friends other than Gil now either. So, maybe he was trying in his awkward, haphazard way to reach out.

Or maybe he was creating a complex profile because his crazy ass was not happy with any bit of a person kept a secret from him.

JT was not sure he would ever know for sure which it was. He glanced back at the precinct and saw Malcolm leave, phone in hand, walking almost directly toward the road. Before JT could move, Gil came out and snatched Malcolm’s phone away. JT turned back around, leaving the profiler in good hands.

_-_-_

Gil grabbed Malcolm before he could walk into the street and looked took his phone. “Pokemon?”

“It’s for my profile,” Malcolm said.

“Of…JT?”

“I’m trying to understanding him,” the profiler replied. Gil raised an eyebrow.

“He liked it when he was a kid, Bright.”

“Which is useful information.”

Gil shook his head. “Let me drive you home.” He squeezed the back of the kid’s neck. His hopeless, awkward kid who just wanted so badly to make friends.


End file.
